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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28573638">Coming Home</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/sentimentalPackrat/pseuds/sentimentalPackrat'>sentimentalPackrat</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Devil May Cry</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Bathing/Washing, Brother Feels, Brotherly Affection, Brotherly Bonding, Brotherly Love, Brothers, Family, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Feral Behavior, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Torture, Memory Loss, Platonic Cuddling</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 04:33:09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>814</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28573638</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/sentimentalPackrat/pseuds/sentimentalPackrat</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Dante leaves for Mallet Island with a stranger with a familiar face. Dante comes back with the woman and with a familiar face made a stranger.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Dante &amp; Vergil (Devil May Cry)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>69</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Coming Home</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Dante leaves for Mallet Island with a stranger with a familiar face. If Lady had been there when Trish crashed her motorcycle through his shop and rammed a sword into his chest, she'd have called him an idiot for taking the job (at least, for taking it on alone.)</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dante comes back with the woman and with a familiar face made a stranger.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Vergil's skin was now pasty and sickly pale, purple veins stretching up the canvas of his skin, like branches on a family tree. Pitch black sclera, like his bright red eyes were floating in his own eye sockets. His hair was limp and lifeless, and caked with dried blood. It broke Dante's heart.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>After he had gotten Trish situated and comfortable, he had taken Vergil by the hand, leading him to the bathroom and turning on the bath. It's hard to get Vergil out of the clunky armor, shaking every time a piece of armor is taken away as he's slowly laid bare. Dante can feel his heart break as Vergil whimpers softly, keeping his head down. He's showing submission. He thinks Dante is going to hurt him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>What did Mundus do to him…?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When he's finally completely nude, Dante can see the horrible scars and bruises and marks running over his brother's body. Looking at his brother used to feel like in a mirror, at times. But, in spite of knowing this is Vergil, the man in front of him felt like a broken stranger.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When Dante goes to guide Vergil into the bath, his brother flinches and whimpers again. He shakes like a leaf, desperate to show submission. Has he even remembered him, Dante wonders, or did he simply defect to Dante after he defeated him and Mundus?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Vergil slowly gets in the tub, and it's not hard to miss the way he melts into the warmth of the water, exhaling softly. Dante works slowly, trying his best to keep in his brother's line of sight as he grabbed soaps and haircare products. He scrubbed at Vergil's back, legs, arms - hoping that the prominent veins would somehow wash out. They don't. When Dante scrubs near Vergil's collarbone, the other man jerks suddenly and lets out a strangled sound, and Dante can't help but laugh. Right. Vergil had been ticklish there. If he were in his right mind, he probably would have clocked Dante upside the jaw.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Then, Dante moves to sudsing up Vergil's hair, massaging his scalp and running his hands through his hair. First, shampoo, then, conditioner. Dante stops only for a moment, when he hears purring that rumbled from within his brother's chest.</span>
</p>
<hr/><p>
  <span>Dante watches as Vergil sits beside him, dressed in a pair of borrowed pajamas. He looks down at the piece of pizza on his plate, sniffing it, looking at it as though it was a puzzle rather than food.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Verge, like this. Remember?" Dante says, holding him pizza up and taking a bite out of it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Vergil watches Dante for a moment, studying his movements and taking in his words. Then, turning back to his slice, he puts two hands on the crust, as though holding it down. Then, he leans down and sinks his teeth into the slice. He jerks his head and growls, not unlike a predatory animal attempting to kill its prey. A bit of the pizza is ripped off and Vergil quickly wolfs it down, even looking a bit proud of himself.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dante sighs. "Ah, good enough. It's a start."</span>
</p>
<hr/><p>
  <span>Trish sleeps in the guest room. Dante doesn't trust Vergil to sleep alone. And after everything that's happened, he can't bare the thought of spending another night away from Vergil.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He sleeps just like they did when they were kids, Dante notes. Vergil sleeps in the fetal position, knees close to his chest and curled almost into a ball. It amazes Dante that Vergil already trusted him enough to sleep near him. Or did he actually remember him…?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dante, on the other hand, can't get to sleep. It still doesn't feel real. How can he possibly go to sleep after everything that happened?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>At one point, Vergil starts whimpering and crying in his sleep, red tears running down his face. He's having a nightmare. His fists jerk out, as though trying to fight something off in the dream.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dante watches. He takes a breath. Vergil could very easily lash out and attack him if he touches him, if he makes the wrong move.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But, Vergil's comfort is more important.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dante wraps his arms around his brother, pulling him close. Vergil jerks slightly in his sleep. One of Dante's hands comes up to run through the other man's hair, now clean and fluffy from the bath. Dante shushes him and hums a familiar tune, one from their childhood.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Slowly, Vergil melts into his brother's hold. He sleeps soundly through the night.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
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